It is known in the art to provide a vertical camera support including a support platform having a quick-release mechanism, such as one manufactured by ARCA-Swiss Phototechnik AG. This quick-release mechanism has opposed jaws selectively movable to a clamping position for selectively gripping slots that are formed in a carrier holding the camera. The mounting mechanism may include a turnable thumb screw or pivoting lever for moving and securing the jaws in the clamping position. This allows the camera to be quickly mounted on the support or taken off the support for freehand shooting.
The support platform is mounted to the vertical camera support by means of a ball-joint. This allows the carrier and camera to be pivoted from a landscape (horizontal) orientation to a portrait (vertical) orientation. The weight of the camera and carrier are substantially centered over the camera support when the camera is in the landscape orientation. However, when the camera is pivoted about the ball joint to the portrait orientation, the weight of the camera and carrier are off kilter from the central axis of the camera support, thereby making the vertical support prone to being tipped over or making the camera more susceptible to environmental factors such as wind drafts. Furthermore, if the camera is being used for close-up shots, the camera lens is significantly displaced along the vertical and horizontal directions during repositioning so that the vertical support must now be repositioned both laterally and vertically through tedious trial-and-error until the object being photographed is brought back within the field of view of the camera lens.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,588,376 describes a camera holder in which the camera can be adjustably moved along a bow-shaped arm between a landscape orientation and a portrait orientation. However, this holder, with its multiple parts, is relatively expensive to manufacture and purchase and is not readily transported. Moreover, the camera and carrier are still off balance when the camera is in the portrait orientation thereby causing the camera and support to remain susceptible to undesirable vibration and being toppled over.
What is desired, then, is a camera mounting assembly which may be made available for purchase at relatively lower cost while preferably allowing the camera to be mounted in stable position on the support in different orientations without requiring adjustment of the support.